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What do you guys think about this older Peformax sander? Did the quality go up or down after Jet bought them? What's a good price to pay?
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I reject your reality and substitute my own. -
I can't speak to the issue of quality. Drum sanders don't come on the market too often. I'd say if you can get it for $400 or less you're doing well.
JRJR -
Can't say much about the newer ones but I have that very same sander and almost nothing gets out of the shop without seeing that sander in one capacity or another. One thing you can count on is your planer will end up under a bench somewhere, forgot about. There are different places to get paper from and it isn't cheap. I have different sources for paper but really do my best to get a full life out of it. If you go ahead and get one let me know and I'll clue you in on the mistakes I made.
Price of course is dictated by your area. I bought mine for $400.00 because the guy didn't know how to set it up. It came with about $200.00 of paper because he didn't know its value. I still have 60 & 80 grit left from when I first bought it.
CorksCork,
Dare to dream and dare to fail.Comment
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I just bought the Jet version of this... other than paint color it looks identical to your pic so it doesn't appear Jet changed much, if anything.
Some things to eyeball:
* the conveyor belt itself: are the edges fraying? Any tears?
* grab the cantilevered end of the main "arm" and wiggle it up/down and left/right looking for ANY freeplay. If it wiggles, something is worn/busted and it may be hard to repair. Turn the elevation crank and run it all the way up & down and check the freeplay at several elevations.
* Does the elevation crank turn easily/smoothly?
* Open the dust hood and look inside for dents/dings/scratches in the metal drum (sandpaper removed). Spin it by hand and watch to see how "true" it runs. If it doesn't look like it's perfectly round, RUN! It should turn fairly easily with no signs of grittiness, uneven/inconsistent drag, grinding noises, etc. If you are mechanically handy replacing the bearings is probably not a big deal...
* On either end of the drum are spring loaded clamps to grip the sandpaper. Make sure the springs are pretty beefy... my unit came with a bent metal rod to work the clamp assembly on the elevation end of the drum - it's hard to get fingers in there. It's also hard to use that special tool - have the seller demonstrate it if possible.
* Plug the unit in and power it up, listening to the motors. If possible, run a scrap board through the unit (with sandpaper installed) to verify the motors do not slow down under light sanding load. Turn the conveyor belt control knob through its range and verify the speed control function works. My unit's speed controller includes an automatic position that measures main sander motor load and adjusts the conveyor feed rate if/when the sander is working too hard. I don't know if this feature exists on the older units - there is a small light on my controller indicating when it's automatically slowing the conveyor motor.
Good luck!
mpcComment
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I bought one about 2 weeks ago for $400. He wanted $450 and was firm until he put a small cut in the conveyor belt. He also threw in 40 unused sand paper refills. I found a manual online for it.
I love it.Comment
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Thanks for all the replies guys. It was an estate sale and unfortunately I got there a little late and he just sold it. He was asking $200.I reject your reality and substitute my own.Comment
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Ouch, sounds like you missed a pretty decent deal.ErikComment
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Well I got my Performax after all. And then some. Just 1 day later a performax 22-44 appeared on CL with a $700 price tag. It was in much better shape than the 16-32, along with being much bigger and having a base. It was already a pretty good price but decided to offer $400 and see what happens. Seller countered with $500 and I bit quickly. I got there and noted how well maintained it was. He said it was never used and was always covered (with an htc cover). I'm usually pretty skeptical about those type of statements but in this case the looked like it came right out of the box. No dust anywhere, including the sandpaper. It came with a set of extension tables, variety of sandpaper, htc tool cover, and wheels on base (not sure if those are standard). The sander appears to be before the JET buy out. Does anyone know how to tell if it has the sandsmart feature (I think that's what's it's called).
When I got there he mentioned he also had a Grizzly edge sander for sale as well. It takes 6x80 sandpaper. It has a moveable table and came with 6 boxes of sandpaper and mobile base. This also looked in very good condition and he said it was used sparingly. I asked what he wanted and he said $400. Emptied the wallet and said all I have is $230. He hesitated for a sec but agreed! He was even nice enough to help load both tools.
He had a real nice Capspray HVLP sprayer for sale as well but by then I was pretty tapped. Now to figure out how to stuff all of this in my small garage.
Last edited by jussi; 06-07-2012, 12:33 AM.I reject your reality and substitute my own.Comment
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dang, you really do suuuuuuck today.
first you make us drool then feel sorry for you as that nice fish got away
then you turn around and say you landed a bigger prettier fish and then
you say you got a bonus big fish for an even better price.
(sorry about the fishing metaphors, you can see where my mind is).Last edited by LCHIEN; 06-07-2012, 12:44 AM.
Loring in Katy, TX USA
If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questionsComment
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Look at the conveyor belt speed control box... if there is a small light at the (approx) 2 o'clock position of the control knob then your unit probably has SandSmart. That light blinks ON whenever SandSmart is slowing down the conveyor speed based on amperage flowing into the main motor. So a quick test is to run a long board into the sander and slowly dial down the sander height control - making the sander take a bigger bite out of the workpiece - and when you hear the main motor load up a bit the light will blink and the conveyor will slow down. If you then raise the drum again the conveyor will return to the original speed (whatever you commanded with the control box knob) and the light will go out.
Did you get the owners manual? And the "TUFTool" (that's what Jet calls it) which is that bent metal rod to help release the sanding belt spring at the inside end of the drum? ("TUF" = Take-Up Fastener according to Jet) You can probably download the manual from Jet... but if not, let me know and I can PDF scan my 16-32 manual for you. I'm sure it's 99% similar... except for the part number list. Check at Jet's site and at www.waltermeier.com (what's listed on the front of my owner manual) There is also a separate instruction "card" that came with the TUFTool, it's pictures are far better than what is in the sander manual. Using that tool takes a bit of practice - at least it did for me. Tip: when the instructions say "outside hole of the fastener lever" they mean the hole furthest from the spring & hinge of the tensioner lever assembly. You'll see the pivot hinge and spring, then a metal piece with 3 holes in it, then an arm poking at an odd angle. The hard-to-see hole in the end of this arm is the TUFtool target - not the three easily visible holes in the tensioner!
The wheels & infeed/outfeed tables are extra-cost add-ons so your "you suck" is even bigger than you thought.
Assuming you didn't get the manual but want to play with the sander... a few quickie tips from my manual:
1: Setting depth of cut: takes practice Jet claims. Great. They continue with advice:
for grits finer than 80, lower the drum until it contacts the workpiece BUT you can still turn the drum by hand.
for grits coarser than 80, lower the drum slightly more.
Start by raising the drum, slipping the workpiece underneath, and lowering the drum unti it contacts the workpiece but you can still turn the drum by hand (main drum power switch OFF of course!).
Without changing the drum height, turn on the conveyor and run the workpiece out.
Now start the drum too, conveyor still running.
Insert the workpiece... so it feeds against the rotation of the drum.
2: set the speed control to 40 to 50%. Slower = better sanding quality.
3: must use dust collection
4: when sanding workpieces with a cup or crown, start with the crown UP and sand until that side is flat.
5: feed the workpiece at an angle to the drum if physical size permits - optimum is about 60 degrees. That spreads wear on the sanding paper, etc. For the final sanding passes though feed the stock so the grain lines up with the conveyor motion.
mpcComment
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congrats on a great deal. that 22/44 looks to be in really nice shape, and the in/outfeed tables should help considerably in reducing snipe. that grizzly edge sander is a great looking unit and the table area is absolutely enormous! kind of like a ridgid 2244 on steroids. good luck with the new tools.there's a solution to every problem.......you just have to be willing to find it.Comment
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Wow that's alot of good info mpc. Thanks!! Yes there is a small led light near the speed control. I'm pretty sure that quick change tool was included and so were the instructions. I will keep all your tips in mind. Now I just need to move the machines around so I can actually work in there. Oh well, I guess that's why they have wheels.I reject your reality and substitute my own.Comment
LCHIEN
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